I’ve been having a lot of fun lately drawing symbols. You see, I want to put symbols next to each exercise in the book of trauma healing self-therapy exercises I am working on. The symbols will indicate all the Healing Goals that exercise will help one achieve.
So I got to work and – whew it’s hard to come up with symbols for these psychological concepts!
Just to show the creative process at work (it’s sort of interesting) I’m sharing with you all the various oddball symbols I came up with for each goal, and then the one I ultimately chose. Did I choose the best symbol for each goal? I don’t know! My head is so full of symbols right now I guess you could say I have symbols coming out my ears. I chose the one I thought “felt” most like the goal and was also hopefully bold enough to see if printed very small.
Symbols – I was calling them “Codicons” for a while – are like little images (or icons) of information (or code). I guess I am wondering – can art enhance and improve our understanding of psychology? Take a look and tell me what you think.
So – without further ado, here are the 15 Trauma Healing Goals and all their symbols! Enjoy!
Before we get into the whole creative process behind each symbol, here are all finalist symbols in color on one page. Feel free to print this if it will help you. Also, there are some art prints of this illustration available in the Store.
Final Illustration
And now here are the graphics about creating each Symbol:
Goal # 1 is Finding Safety:
Goal # 2 is Self-Regulation:
Goal # 3 is Into the Body:
Goal # 4 is Overwhelm to Simplicity:
Goal # 5 is Inner Child Healing:
Goal # 6 is Finding Goodness:
Goal # 7 is Finding Life:
Goal # 8 is Using the Five Senses:
Goal # 9 is Finding Power:
Goal #10 is Finding Self:
Goal #11 is Grief Healing:
Goal # 12 is Brain Training:
Goal # 13 is Analysis:
Whew! only two more!
Goal # 14 is Reaching Higher Mind
And goal # 15 is… Boundaries and Filters
Whew that was a lot of work! 🙂
Thanks for reading and I wish you the very best on your healing journey!
Note that this and all blog posts on my blog are based on my personal experiences as well as ongoing research. If, during my research, I discover that something is inaccurate I will update it immediately.
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Heidi Hanson is an artist and writer in Asheville, North Carolina currently working on an illustrated book chronicling her journey healing from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.
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